Fewer people were declared insolvent in England and Wales in the first three months of the year, although experts predict a rise later in the year. There were 30,162 personal insolvencies in the first quarter, down 1.7% on the previous three months and the fourth consecutive quarterly fall.

The Insolvency Service figures show the number was 15.5% down on the same period a year earlier.

However, there was a rise in the number of businesses going bust.
Living costs

A record number of people were declared insolvent in 2010, but the numbers were falling as the year went on.

Some people find that Christmas spending adds to debt problems, with credit card bills landing at the start of the year, but the trend of falling personal insolvencies continued at the start of........Read more HERE